The prior art is replete with examples of mechanism for feeding bar stock to lathes and like machines. Most prior feeders are complicated and provided in the form of stands for supporting bar stock adjacent to the lathe, and these feeders also include fluid-pressure means for advancing the stock. The present invention differs from the art primarily in supporting the bar stock in a filler tube coaxially within and affixed to the work receiver or spindle of the lathe and further in equipping the tube with a fluid-pressurizable piston abutting the proximate end of the stock so as to advance the stock through the receiver or chuck of the machine. It is found advantageous to adapt the feed mechanism for use with shorter lengths of bar stock than heretofore employed, thus eliminating the need for expensive and cumbersome auxiliary supports for the over-hanging stock.
It is a significant feature of the invention to provide the bar-stock-carrying or filler tube as a coaxial adjunct to the rotatable work receiver of the lathe or equivalent machine and further to provide this tube as one of several tubes of different diameters for accommodating bar stock of different diameters. Also, the tube may be provided in different forms for utilization with receivers or chucks of different designs. The designs according to the invention are simple, easily attached to different types of machines and readily interchangeable for the accommodation of bar stock of different diameters.